Written By Kevin Fox
Directed By Jean De Segonzac
The pursuit of an SVU rape suspect leads detectives from the 27th precinct to shoot and kill an unarmed black man. While Internal Affairs investigates the shooting, pressure from the media and City Hall leads Barba to present the case to a grand jury to indict the cops. Questions on whether the the detectives involved were following procedure or not causes strife between newly-minted Lieutenant Benson and Barba.
Tropes
- Bittersweet Ending: Terrance's family gets some measure of justice for their son's death thanks to Barba's efforts. Unfortuntely, the grand jury decides to bring stronger, but harder to prove charges to two of the cops and no one is happy with the outcome. To add salt to the wound, the episode ends with the squad having to deal with a rookie cop killed in a traffic stop gone wrong.
- From Bad to Worse: Everything from the moment of the shooting to the start of the grand jury hearing can be summed up with this trope.
- Once the shooting is over, not only are the cops immediately surrounded by the public, the squad is unable to find the gun the Detectives saw, forcing Olivia to send Carisi to check Terrance's room for evidence linking him to the crime.
- Then Terrance dies in the hospital, the victim of the push-in rapist finds him too young to be them, and on top of that, the DNA Test exonerates him, meaning they ended up killing an innocent person.
- Then, the day before the grand jury meeting, despite affirming to Barba that they'll tell him any evidence they find in their parallel investigation, Terrance's family lawyer leaks a video of the shooting to the public, screwing any attempt of neutrality.
- It's All About Me: After it's proven that Terrance Reynolds wasn't the push-in rapist, Sergeant Donlan and Detective Campesi never express any concern or remorse over having killed an innocent person, instead focusing solely on how the incident is affecting their careers. Subverted with Detective Dumas: while he initially shares the same attitude as Donlan and Campesi, he eventually expresses guilt over Terrance's death on the stand.
- Just Between You and Me: After IA finishes the deposition with Dumas, they close the camera and suggest that, next time they prep them for the interview, to have them use their own words.
- Just Following Orders: Olivia, Captain Reece, and the detectives themselves all defend the shooting with this trope. Barba is having none of it and calls them out on every attempt.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Detective Dumas, who only shot thrice, and admits that he only shot thrice because he didn't see Terrance holding a weapon and would be alive if they've waited half a second longer, is the only one of the 3 detectives indicted on the original reckless endangerment charge instead of manslaughter one.
- Papa Bear: The moment Declan hears that Amanda is pregnant, he leaves a seven-month sting operation on a sex traffic ring in Serbia to ask Amanda about it and assure her he'll be there for her if she needs it.
- Token Good Teammate: Downplayed; while none of the officers involved in the shooting could be considered evil, Dumas is notably the only one who comes to admit he and his fellow officers made a mistake and express remorse for having killed an innocent civilian.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The "push-in" rapist that the squad was pursuing and who the detectives thought Terrence was never caught by the end of the episode. A later episode confirms that he was eventually caught.
